In constructing and designing a system for connecting panels, the prime considerations are expense and complexity of manufacture and assembly, adaptability to a wide variety of uses, strength of the connection and aesthetic properties of the final construction. The expense and complexity must be minimized, while the other considerations must be maximized in the system in order for the system to be successful.
While various channel connector systems have been known in this art, they have tended to be expensive and difficult to manufacture and assemble, unadaptable to a wide variety of uses, weak and/or not sufficiently pleasing in appearance. Typical conventional connector systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,962,133 to Kivett et al, 3,425,171 to Propst et al, 3,430,997 to Propst et al, 3,517,467 to Propst et al, 3,990,204 to Haworth et al, 3,449,877 to Beckman, and 3,868,800 to Peterson.
For example, the system of the Kivett et al patent employs channels having a central dovetail tenon and coextensive dovetail fittings which are forced together by a threaded fastener to lock the channels and thereby the adjacent panels to one another. Since the fittings have a length which is coextensive with that of the channels and since the fittings extend across the entire width of the channels, this arrangement is expensive to manufacture, difficult to manipulate during assembly and is not readily adaptable to permit the attachment of accessories to the channels.